New York Yankees: Predicting 2018 Opening Day Outfield
With a number of the New York Yankees’ top prospects getting major playing time this season, the team has turned its eye toward the future. Just a year from now, a few of these players will be household names in the outfield of Yankee Stadium.
The New York Yankees have surprised nearly everyone in baseball this season. A team that was supposedly entering a rebuild looks more like a team destined for postseason ball. They’ve done this in quite the impressive fashion.
The team got off to a blistering start in the early months of the season, compiling a stellar 38-23 record by mid-June.
Of course, this hot start was followed by a horrific team slump that saw the Bombers go 7-18 to finish the first half.
Now, the team is back in first place with a healthy record of 56-47. This resurgence has been led by the likes of rookie Clint Frazier and the hot bat of Brett Gardner.
Even though phenom Aaron Judge has slumped, the Yankees look more like the April and May version of the team.
When taking Frazier’s hot start and Judge’s talent into mind, it’s fair to start pondering next season’s potential outfield arrangements.
With $153 million man Jacoby Ellsbury playing second fiddle to Frazier, it’s becoming more and more likely that the 2018 version of the Yankees outfield will look very different.
Let’s see what the crystal ball says.
Clint Frazier
In all likelihood, Clint Frazier will be starting in left field next season for the Yankees. The Yankees’ No. 2 prospect, according to MLB.com, has done it all in his short time in the big leagues.
The fiery righty is slashing .282/.537/.819 through 82 at-bats. He’s also clubbed four home runs and driven in 16 RBI. As Jack Curry of the YES Network pointed out, that’s close to 25 home runs and 100 RBI over a full 500 at-bat season.
The 22-year-old plays with a hustle and heart that the Yankees haven’t seen in a while, with the exception of emerging ace Luis Severino.
The only thing that’s really in his way, you ask? Well, that’s simple. It happens to be the longest tenured Yankee on the roster, Brett Gardner. It might not be as easy it sounds to get rid of Gardner, as the righty is mashing the ball right now.
The 33-year-old veteran is hitting .326 in his last 12 games, with four home runs in that span.
However, Gardner has been a trade candidate for years now. If he continues this hot pace, his value would never be higher.
Whether it be a trade, position switch or bench role for Gardner, look for Frazier to be patrolling left field next season.
Jacoby Ellsbury or Brett Gardner
So, I know that I don’t have a clear-cut answer for who will be starting in center field next season. The reason being: It’s pretty difficult to tell right now.
On one side you have the incumbent, Jacoby Ellsbury. He’s currently slated to make just over $21 million every year until 2021, according to Spotrac. Stating the obvious, but that’s a lot of money.
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It’s especially a lot of money for a 33-year-old who has hit a combined .263 over the past three seasons. While the Yankees would love to just ship Ellsbury out in a trade, not many teams will be willing to take on such a contract.
On the other side of the equation, you have Brett Gardner. He’s outplayed Ellsbury, but not by much. He also comes much cheaper, becomes a free agent after 2018 and makes just $11 million next year.
So, who would the Yankees rather have in center? The simple answer is Gardner. As a leader of the team, he’d be willing to switch spots to allow room for Frazier to start.
Giving him one more year on the team would give top prospect Dustin Fowler the chance to rehab from injury and leave the door open for a starting gig in 2019.
All of it depends on what happens with Ellsbury. There’s simply no way he becomes a $21 million bench piece.
Aaron Judge
Well, duh. Who else could I have put here that would have made any sense?
Even though the massive outfielder is currently in a slump, there’s no denying the impact Aaron Judge has had on not just the Yankees, but all of baseball.
He’s currently the tied with Giancarlo Stanton for the league lead in home runs with 33. Through 99 games he has racked up 74 RBI and a staggering 73 walks.
The 25-year-old has broke out in a major way this season, becoming one of the true faces of baseball. It’s been pretty astonishing to see just how quickly Judge has become one of the most feared hitters in the game, although he still needs to curb his strikeout percentage.
Barring an epic collapse of talent (not likely), Judge will be the Yankees’ starting right fielder for the next decade.
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If he breaks out of his slump and returns to his first half form, it’s going to be him and Mike Trout in a battle for AL MVP.
It’s pretty crazy to think that the Yankees were considering starting Judge in the minor leagues this season.